Offaly Macra Notes (October 24)

All the latest from the clubs of the county

Best of luck to the Killoughey and Ferbane/Banagher Teams in the Know your Ag National Final and to our Stockjudging representatives at the Rally at the end of the month.

The County Round of Debating will be held on Friday 3rd November at 8pm in Ballyboy before our couny executive at 9pm. All are welcome! At this meeting we will be collecting shoe boxes for the Christmas Appeal. County round of indoor soccer will be held on Sunday November 5th.

The Royal Rally

Meath Macra na Feirme and Meath County Council have come together to host the Make It Meath Royal Rally 2017, an Annual Young Farmers Conference. The Rally is the biggest event of the Macra year - it offers activities to suit everyone and a place for Macra members and non Macra members to make friends and memories that will last a lifetime. The rally runs from Friday October 27th to Sunday 29th. Check out www.royalrally2017.com for more info. Offaly Macra will be in attendance.

Ferbane/Banagher Macra

The club held A 'Cups Against Cancer Coffee Morning' in aid of the Irish Cancer Society is which took place in the Heritage Centre, Ferbane on the 21st October. A bake sale and raffle was also held at the event also which was a resounding success with the local community supporting the event as well as fellow macra club members in the county. A strong local sponsorship from

O'Callaghan's Centra in Ferbane, The Country Kitchen in Borrisokane, The Black Boot Restaurant in Ferbane, Healy's Spar in Cloghan, Hennessey's Bar and Restaurant in Ferbane, Aidan Walsh's Pharmacy in Ferbane, Higgins Post Office in Ferbane, Total Health Pharmacy in Ferbane, Flynn's Bar and Restaurant in Banagher, Flynn's Supervalu in Banagher and Hanlon's Butchers in Birr. Their support was kindly appreciated by the club for the event to the raffle and bake sale as part of the coffee morning. The club also setup a gofundme page which is still open for donations. Please visit www.gofundme.com/cups-against- cancer to make a donation to this worthy cause.

Ferbane/Banagher macra members headed along to Tullamore Maria's auction night on Friday 20th October 2017 in Tullamore which was a great success and enjoyed by all the members on the night. Well done to all involved from Tullamore macra at the event.

Best wishes to Ferbane/Banagher macra members heading to the National Macra Conference taking place next Friday night at the City North Hotel in Gormanstown in Meath for the finals of the Irish Farmers Journal 'Know Your Ag' competition and to Sarah Kelly in the Bord Bia Senior Stock-judging finals.

Next club meeting on 2nd November in Teach Lea, Lough Boots at 8.30pm. Contact Sarah Kelly for more details on macra activities and events coming up on 086-3575915.

Tullamore Macra

Last Friday, 20th October, we organised and hosted our very first auction! We had many lots up for grabs on the night..a Beltex Ewe, a handmade coffee table by our treasurer, Fergal Leonard and Massey Ferguson clothing to name but a few! The night was a massive success and we were thrilled to see such a crowd attend.

Just some special thank yous..to all of our sponsors for their generous lots for our auction that we're kindly donated. To all who attended, thank you, we hope you are all happy with your purchases! A huge thank you to Paul Bell and all staff of the Brewery Tap for being so accommodating to us! Our MC, Ger Mahon, who kept the crowd entertained with plenty of craic and banter. Finally, thank you to our committee for their endless work to make our special night such a success!

To celebrate the success of our fundraising auction, we are going bowling on Friday 27th October in Cosmic Bowl, Tullamore. It's Bring Your Own Beer and €5 per person. All welcome.

Congratulations to Ferbane/Banagher Macra on holding a hugely successful bake sale on Saturday 21st October for Cups for Cancer. Some of our members headed along and we were more than happy to donate to such a worthy cause. Well done to all involved.

Best of luck to Rahan Macra member Martina Mealiffe as she gears up to represent her club and county as the Offaly Queen of the Land 2017. We have every faith that Martina will do us all very proud and we cannot wait to be there to support her over the weekend from 10th-12th November in the Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore.

We always love to see new faces coming along and joining our club. If interested, contact Nicholas on (086) 1514297 or Trish on (085) 8494259.

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